Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 46899 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46899 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
He rolled with me onto the floor, still kissing me like letting go wasn’t an option. He wrapped my hand in a strip of his discarded shirt, poured another glass of wine, and pressed it into my fingers.
We sat there, disheveled and silent, staring into the fire.
Finally, he spoke. “If someone kills someone you love,” he said, “you have the right to take their life.”
I nodded. “A life for a life is fair.”
He drained his glass. “I’m glad you agree. Because the life I’m taking… it’s going to hurt you.”
My stomach twisted. I felt sick—but not surprised.
“Will you let me say goodbye?” I asked.
He exhaled. “You’ll know who it is when I give them a gift. The same way you gave me vials of poison. I’ll leave something precious—in the same box.” He looked at me. “You’ll have one hour.”
I wet my lips. “Will I hate you?”
“Yes,” he said without hesitation.
“Will we be hunted?”
A beat. Then, “Yes.”
“Is it necessary?”
He turned to me, eyes wild. “Yes.”
I nodded as tears slipped free. “Okay,” I whispered. “Okay.”
20
LOUIS
A man who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command. — Niccolo Machiavelli
Iwoke with her naked in my arms, the weight of her body warm against mine—and might as well have had a countdown hanging over my head.
Time was already running out.
I knew what had to be done. I wanted revenge, yes—but more than that, I needed to protect my family. Her. Knowing how this would end didn’t make it easier. It just made it unavoidable.
If it wasn’t me, they’d send someone else.
If it wasn’t me, Dante Alfero was still a dead man walking.
He could try to disappear, go into hiding—but men like Dante didn’t hide. They stood their ground and dared the world to blink first. He could order a hit on the Vescovis, but that would start a war. And wars never took just one life.
So, I stripped the emotion out of it. Thought about it the way I’d been trained to.
Two things were true.
Dante would die.
And the least destructive outcome—the most merciful one—was that it would be me.
Someone he knew. Someone he trusted. Someone married to his daughter. Not a bullet in the dark, not a cheap ambush in a parking lot. It would be on his terms.
He never gave my brother that courtesy.
This was mercy. For Tempest.
And only for her.
Friday was another family dinner. Too many people. Too many eyes. Which meant I’d need to get him alone.
The plan was simple.
I’d buy him a gun. Take him to the private range on his property—far from the men. Just the two of us. I’d leave a note in the familiar box. Come alone.
I’d give him time. Time with Tempest. Time to put his affairs in order.
Time for us to run.
Tempest would need to disappear with me. New names. New ground.
The only thing that still gnawed at me was Cassian. What he still needed. What he hadn’t said.
I needed Tempest to trust me enough to finally tell me.
She stirred in my arms. “What time is it?”
I exhaled slowly. “What does Cassian want?” I asked. “Not what he says. What does he really want? I don’t care what leverage he has—I need to know what he needs me to do.”
She looked up at me, then down at her bandaged, bloodstained hand.
“They adopted him when he was little,” she said quietly. “They won’t kill him. They won’t use him either. He’s like a trophy.”
I frowned.
“He wants to know where he came from,” she continued. “His real last name. Why he matters. That’s it.”
I nodded slowly. “They abused him. Hated him. Then turned him into a weapon.” I swallowed. “That usually means he’s connected to someone powerful.”
She sighed, propping herself on her elbows. “Know any mob bosses missing a kid? Maybe he was taken.”
I froze. “I wouldn’t put it past them.”
She tilted her head. “Instead of asking the Vescovis… you could always ask my dad.”
I said nothing.
Because by then, Dante Alfero would already be dead.
“I’ll think about it,” I said instead. “Let’s just enjoy the day.”
She stretched, completely unaware of the clock screaming in my head. “Can’t. It’s my mom’s birthday. We have to go over to the house.”
And just like that—
Opportunity presented itself, wrapped in cake and candles.
I could do it tonight.
I could do it now.
Adrenaline surged through my veins, cold and electric.
I kissed her forehead and stood. “Let’s not keep them waiting.”
The countdown had begun.
21
TEMPEST
Freedom is the recognition of necessity. — Immanuel Kant
Something was off.
I’d known it the moment I woke up. Louis was quieter than usual—too controlled, like he was holding himself together with wire instead of bone and muscle. Last night alone was enough to rattle anyone, but this felt different. Purposeful.
Then he grabbed one of the boxes.
The box.
The one I’d kept the vials in.
Not a great sign.
I said nothing as we drove in silence toward my parents’ mansion, the long iron gates already pulled open like a mouth expecting tribute. Cars were scattered everywhere—black sedans, security SUVs, drivers lingering too close to doors.